Political Quotes

“I have worked on efforts to prevent the diversion of fees collected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for years. When the distinguished Senator from Oklahoma, Mr. Coburn, took on the issue, I urged him to work with me, to withhold the amendment during the Judiciary Committee's consideration of the bill, and I would work with him to include improvements on the Senate floor. I did. I kept my word. In fact, I included language he drafted in the managers' amendment and worked hard to pass it despite the misgivings of several Senators on both sides of the aisle. However, when our bill went over to the House of Representatives, they preserved the principle against fee diversion but changed the language. The language of the bill is that which the House devised and voted to include as worked out by the House Republican leadership to satisfy House rules. The provisions Senator Coburn had drafted--and I understand may offer with his amendment--apparently violate House rule 21, which prohibits authorizing legislation from converting discretionary spending into mandatory spending. So instead of a revolving fund, the House established a reserve fund. The America Invents Act, as passed by the House, continues to make important improvements to ensure that fees collected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are used for USPTO activities.…”